It was nice of Optimus Prime to donate his hands for this.

 

Hrmm... for a second I thought maybe the signage was inspired by goatse.cx? :lol:

<b>Arena District Plans for Future Residential Development</b>

By: Walker

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/casino-site.jpg">

 

<i>If you’ve spent any time in the Arena District lately, you’ve probably noticed quite a few construction projects in the works. Two new office buildings are under way, one new parking garage is being built while another nearby is being expanded, and the new Hilton Hotel towers nearby as well.

 

There are fewer and fewer places remaining for development within the boundaries of The Arena District, but new acquisitions will allow the neighborhood to continue to grow for years to come. New residential development will eventually be planned west of Huntington Park according to Brian Ellis, President of Nationwide Realty Investors.

 

We spoke with Brian recently to find out more about the ongoing work in the neighborhood as well as what the future has in store. Our full interview can be found below:</i>

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/arena-district-plans-for-future-residential-development

<b>Arena District Plans for Future Residential Development</b>

By: Walker

 

<img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/casino-site.jpg">

 

<i>If youve spent any time in the Arena District lately, youve probably noticed quite a few construction projects in the works. Two new office buildings are under way, one new parking garage is being built while another nearby is being expanded, and the new Hilton Hotel towers nearby as well.

 

There are fewer and fewer places remaining for development within the boundaries of The Arena District, but new acquisitions will allow the neighborhood to continue to grow for years to come. New residential development will eventually be planned west of Huntington Park according to Brian Ellis, President of Nationwide Realty Investors.

 

We spoke with Brian recently to find out more about the ongoing work in the neighborhood as well as what the future has in store. Our full interview can be found below:</i>

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/arena-district-plans-for-future-residential-development

Another great interview Walker!  Good to hear from the people behind the development that we talk about.  Good to see updates on the three big construction projects underway in the Arena District too:

 

Project #1: Nationwide Insurance Office Building (10 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Five-story, 200,000 square foot office building under construction at the northeast corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard.

 

 

Project #2: Columbia Gas Office Building and Parking Garage (NE corner of Nationwide Blvd. & Neil Avenue) - Six-story, 280,000 square foot office building and a four-level, 1,225-space parking garage.  The parking garage is currently under construction:

 

 

Project #3: FBI Building (425 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Three-story, 51,000 square foot office building at the southwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hanover Street.

This webcam is pretty cool, and you get to see three projects in one essentially, but I have a few questions: 

 

http://www.earthcam.com/client/HiltonColumbusDowntown/

 

1.  How tall is this garage expansion suppose to be?  I would imagine being a visitor to the new hotel, the view would be obstructed by the new higher garage.  Also, is there any new greenspace planned for the spot in front of the garage behind the hotel?

 

2.  The new Nationwide building looks good from the little bit that you can see.  It has expanded more towards High Street than I thought it would.  Isn't greenspace planned for the section between the building and High Street?

2.  The new Nationwide building looks good from the little bit that you can see.  It has expanded more towards High Street than I thought it would.  Isn't greenspace planned for the section between the building and High Street?

 

If NRI can secure the land, which is currently owned by the railroads.

It was nice of Optimus Prime to donate his hands for this.

 

Hrmm... for a second I thought maybe the signage was inspired by goatse.cx? :lol:

 

Hmmm, I'd heard of that site before and felt it was best avoided, though I'd never actually been there. Seems like it's changed a bit. ha ha

I can't believe someone once complained about too much brick in the Arena District (a contributing person here, I think). This is high quality stuff that makes other cities envious.

Is the arena district downtown? I live in Cleveland so I don't know but I am curious

This is unbelievably nitpicky, but looking at those renderings--if I am reading it right--I wish all three of the buildings making up the new Columbia Gas office space looked like the one building--the skinny, yellowish one.  (That is part of the new construction, right?)

Is the arena district downtown? I live in Cleveland so I don't know but I am curious

Yes.  It basically forms the north/northwest boundary of downtown Columbus.  It also acts as a transition from the traditional CBD core of the downtown to the Short North/Victorian Village neighborhood north of downtown.

 

It's also a relatively recent "addition" to downtown Columbus if you will.  Prior to the late 90's construction of Nationwide Arena (and the later Arena District development around it), the huge and vacant Ohio Penitentiary formed a stopping point to what most considered to be downtown proper.  The Pen was 22 acres in total size and had imposing 30 foot high stone walls surrounding it.  With the removal of the Pen, new development effectively blended the existing downtown with the Arena District.  It also started redevelopment in the formerly industrial area west of the Pen (west of Neil Avenue).  This is where the Columbus Clippers Huntington Park and the Buggyworks Building are located.

I can't believe someone once complained about too much brick in the Arena District (a contributing person here, I think). This is high quality stuff that makes other cities envious.

 

I don't know if it was said here.  But complaining about "too much brick" always occurs whenever a new Arena District project is announced over at Columbus Underground.

 

This is unbelievably nitpicky, but looking at those renderings--if I am reading it right--I wish all three of the buildings making up the new Columbia Gas office space looked like the one building--the skinny, yellowish one.  (That is part of the new construction, right?)

 

Yeah, that new Columbia Gas Office building next to the Arena will be one new building made to look like three separate buildings (two red brick clad and one yellow brick clad).  I kind of like the contrast between the buildings - but that yellow brick design is the most interesting of the three.  Wouldn't have been a bad thing if its design made up the whole building.

Is the arena district downtown? I live in Cleveland so I don't know but I am curious

Yes.  It basically forms the north/northwest boundary of downtown Columbus.  It also acts as a transition from the traditional CBD core of the downtown to the Short North/Victorian Village neighborhood north of downtown.

 

It's also a relatively recent "addition" to downtown Columbus if you will.  Prior to the late 90's construction of Nationwide Arena (and the later Arena District development around it), the huge and vacant Ohio Penitentiary formed a stopping point to what most considered to be downtown proper.  The Pen was 22 acres in total size and had imposing 30 foot high stone walls surrounding it.  With the removal of the Pen, new development effectively blended the existing downtown with the Arena District.  It also started redevelopment in the formerly industrial area west of the Pen (west of Neil Avenue).  This is where the Columbus Clippers Huntington Park and the Buggyworks Building are located.

 

To this day, I still believe that the only reason the Pen was completely torn down instead of partially incorporated into the AD was because of the wall.  Specifically, I'm referring to the day that part of the wall collapsed onto a parked car.  I think that gave the city and development concerns all the firepower needed to get rid of it as part of a saftey concern.  The Civil War era main building was pretty awesome and would've made a hell of a tourist attraction as a renovated part of the new arena or even residential/offices.  This is probably the one demolition of the last 20-25 years that I was truly disappointed in the city for.  Luckily there hasn't been that many.

 

BTW, to get a good idea of where the wall was, McPherson Commons basically follows where it was, at least on the west and south sides. 

To this day, I still believe that the only reason the Pen was completely torn down instead of partially incorporated into the AD was because of the wall.  Specifically, I'm referring to the day that part of the wall collapsed onto a parked car.  I think that gave the city and development concerns all the firepower needed to get rid of it as part of a saftey concern.  The Civil War era main building was pretty awesome and would've made a hell of a tourist attraction as a renovated part of the new arena or even residential/offices.  This is probably the one demolition of the last 20-25 years that I was truly disappointed in the city for.  Luckily there hasn't been that many.

 

BTW, to get a good idea of where the wall was, McPherson Commons basically follows where it was, at least on the west and south sides. 

I was going to draw an outline of the Pen's outer wall over a current aerial of the Arena District.  But then I found a website dedicated to the old Ohio Penitentiary and it already had one.  Here's the website it is from: http://oldohiostatepenitentiary.blogspot.com/. 

 

The aerial photo looks like it's circa 2008 because Huntington Park is still under construction and it opened in Spring 2009.  Also the two parking lots immediately west of Nationwide Arena are now under construction with a parking garage and the future Columbia Gas office building.

 

I have to say though, if you look at aerial maps from the 1990s to now, the difference is pretty dramatic.  I still think parts of the Pen should've been incorporated, but the AD still turned out to be a fantastic development.

It's hard for me to tell if an 1800s prison could be effectively reconfigured into something useful for public or semi-public use in the United States. Sure, I wouldn't have a problem with curved walls that turn into ceilings, low ceilings, narrow halls that are critical to the structure, steps everywhere and whatnot (neither would Europeans or other overseas friends). But here in the good 'ol U.S. of A. they could probably come up with 9000 reasons why it wouldn't be allowed and was too expensive to fix -- such as that it would be hard to use a Rascal or Hoveround to navigate the buildings. If the buildings had been in constant use rather than abandoned in 1984 it would have been easier. Do keep in mind that a lot of the materials were saved and moved to a big yard somewhere... so maybe someone will get creative and put them to good use.

To this day, I still believe that the only reason the Pen was completely torn down instead of partially incorporated into the AD was because of the wall.  Specifically, I'm referring to the day that part of the wall collapsed onto a parked car.  I think that gave the city and development concerns all the firepower needed to get rid of it as part of a saftey concern.  The Civil War era main building was pretty awesome and would've made a hell of a tourist attraction as a renovated part of the new arena or even residential/offices.  This is probably the one demolition of the last 20-25 years that I was truly disappointed in the city for.  Luckily there hasn't been that many.

 

BTW, to get a good idea of where the wall was, McPherson Commons basically follows where it was, at least on the west and south sides. 

I was going to draw an outline of the Pen's outer wall over a current aerial of the Arena District.  But then I found a website dedicated to the old Ohio Penitentiary and it already had one.  Here's the website it is from: http://oldohiostatepenitentiary.blogspot.com/. 

 

The aerial photo looks like it's circa 2008 because Huntington Park is still under construction and it opened in Spring 2009.  Also the two parking lots immediately west of Nationwide Arena are now under construction with a parking garage and the future Columbia Gas office building.

 

thanks for the map. I remember the long, seemingly endless brick wall, but I don't remember the Pen being that huge (!), passing it all the time on the way downtown, when I lived on Neil Ave. a few blocks south of campus in the mid-70's. I could have sworn there was once talk of turning it into an amusement park!

It's hard for me to tell if an 1800s prison could be effectively reconfigured into something useful for public or semi-public use in the United States. Sure, I wouldn't have a problem with curved walls that turn into ceilings, low ceilings, narrow halls that are critical to the structure, steps everywhere and whatnot (neither would Europeans or other overseas friends). But here in the good 'ol U.S. of A. they could probably come up with 9000 reasons why it wouldn't be allowed and was too expensive to fix -- such as that it would be hard to use a Rascal or Hoveround to navigate the buildings. If the buildings had been in constant use rather than abandoned in 1984 it would have been easier. Do keep in mind that a lot of the materials were saved and moved to a big yard somewhere... so maybe someone will get creative and put them to good use.

 

We reuse 19th century architecture all the time.  I don't think for a moment that most of the site could've been reused, but I do think the oldest and most historically interesting building could've been at least partially.  It's the one that runs along the southern and western border from the map.  I think it would've been very cool to have owned a renovated apt in such a building.  Of course, then again, if you believe in things like ghosts, maybe it wouldn't be for everyone.  The Pen was the site of one of the largest prison fires ever back in the 1930s, when over 300 inmates died.  I don't think it was in that particular building though, but in another cellblock.

 

Project #1: Nationwide Insurance Office Building (10 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Five-story, 200,000 square foot office building under construction at the northeast corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard.

 

Project #2: Columbia Gas Office Building and Parking Garage (NE corner of Nationwide Blvd. & Neil Avenue) - Six-story, 280,000 square foot office building and a four-level, 1,225-space parking garage.  The parking garage is currently under construction:

 

Project #3: FBI Building (425 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Three-story, 51,000 square foot office building at the southwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hanover Street.

There have been many updates on the "Big Three" construction projects currently going on in the Arena District (see above for the most recent update).  But that doesn't mean there are no other projects also going on.  Columbus Business First recently reported on two smaller Arena District projects at the link below:

 

Business First: ARC, 360 Architecture relocating operations

 

ARC Columbus, formerly named Atlas Blueprint & Supply, is moving from 374 W. Spring Street to 1159 Dublin Road near Grandview.  According to the article, the property owners - The Wittmann Company - will expand the 7,500-square-foot building that faces North Bank Park on Spring Street by 700 square feet for an undisclosed tenant.  This Spring Street property is located one block west of the renovated Belmont Building, which is also Wittman Company, and one block south of Huntington Park.

 

The article also reported that 360 Architecture, an architecture firm that helped design Nationwide Arena and Huntington Park, recently completed a move within the Arena District.  360 Architecture moved one block north from 375 N. Front Street to 415 N. Front Street.  Their 375 N. Front offices were located within a three-story office building attached to the east side of Nationwide Arena.  Their new offices at 415 N. Front Street are located in one of the ground floor storefronts of the six-story Arena Crossing apartment building facing Front Street.

Columbus Underground pointed me toward this unintentionally funny editorial from the Coshocton Tribune about the Arena District.  It was written by "a citizen member of the Coshocton Tribune Editorial Board".  Apparently, this poor soul was invited to a Clippers ballgame at Huntington Park in the Arena District.  The game was being held at noon on a weekday and apparently the editorial writer had some difficulty finding a parking space.  Here is the link to the editorial below:

 

• Coshocton Tribune: Think twice before visiting Arena District during work week

 

If you are going to read that editorial, then you really should also read the Columbus Underground thread where I first found it.  Here is the CU link below:

 

• Columbus Underground: Arena District Parking Garages Not Accomodating All Visitors

 

The replies at CU are priceless.  Plus, one of the posters showed a feature the Arena District has that could have saved the Coshocton editorial writer alot of grief:

 

http://www.huntingtonparkcolumbus.com/Parking.html

 

If you would like to reserve your parking for the Ballpark ahead of time you can do so using ClickandPark.com.

 

http://arenadistrictparking.clickandpark.com/

 

That Click and Park feature offers $5 spots in a parking garage across the street from Huntington Park and $3 spots in a parking garage a block away!  Something that would have proved useful before the Coshocton editorial writer went to the ballgame.  And even more useful before the Coshocton editorial writer wrote an editorial proclaiming "it doesn't seem like the powers that brought the Arena District into being planned the access routes and parking facilities very well." :-D

Another update on the "Big Three" construction projects currently going on in the Arena District.  Photos are from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup - June 2012 and from the twitter feed MyUrbanhood:

 

Project #1: Nationwide Insurance Office Building (10 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Five-story, 200,000 square foot office building under construction at the northeast corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard.

 

The entire building is difficult to get in one photo.  So here are four views of it.  This view is from the

corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard looking east.  The Hyatt Regency Hotel is in the background.

 

 

This view is from Nationwide Boulevard looking west (back to the previous location).  Nationwide Arena is

in the background.  The historic Moline Plow Building which fronts Front Street is also visible in the background. 

This part of the 10 W. Nationwide Building was designed to align with the Moline Plow Building and preserve

the view to Nationwide Arena.

 

 

This view is from further east along Nationwide Boulevard and shows the two parts of the "L" shaped building. 

The parts facing Nationwide Boulevard and Front Street have brick facades.  The part of the "L" furthest away

from those streets has a facade that is mostly glass.

 

 

This view is from High Street.  The brick portion of the building is further along with its brick facing then in

the previous photo.  The glass faced portion of the building is more prominent in this view.

 

 

Project #2: Columbia Gas Office Building and Parking Garage (NE corner of Nationwide Blvd. & Neil Avenue) - Six-story, 280,000 square foot office building and a four-level, 1,225-space parking garage.  The parking garage is currently under construction:

 

This view is from the railroad tracks that runs behind Nationwide Arena looking southwest.  The arena is to

the left in this photo.  The Huntington Park ballpark is in the background and to the right in this photo.

 

 

Project #3: FBI Building (425 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Three-story, 51,000 square foot office building at the southwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hanover Street.

 

This is a view of the FBI Building from the Nationwide & Hanover intersection across Nationwide Boulevard

looking southward.

 

 

This is a view of the FBI Building from the Nationwide & Hanover intersection looking westward down

Nationwide Boulevard.  Part of the Buggyworks Building can be seen to the right in the photo.

More construction on the "Big Three" Arena District projects.  Photos are from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup - July 2012:

 

Project #1: Nationwide Insurance Office Building (10 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Five-story, 200,000 square foot office building under construction at the northeast corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard.

 

This is a view of the office building from the parking garage diagonally across the Nationwide & Front intersection looking northeast.  The Hyatt Regency Hotel is in the background to the right.  The nearly completed Hilton Hotel is in the center background behind the Nationwide Office Building.  To the left in the background is an addition being built to an existing parking garage.  The renovated Moline Plow building is to the left in the foreground.

 

 

This is a view further north along Front Street at the north end of the office building.  To the left in the foreground is the addition being built to an existing parking garage.  To the left in the background is the nearly completed Hilton Hotel.

 

 

This view is a little further north along Front Street.  It 'turns the corner' of the office building from the previous photo to show the northern facade of the building.  This view shows the western brick faced portion of the building and the eastern glass walled portion of the building.

 

 

This view is from Nationwide Boulevard and shows the western brick faced portion and the eastern glass walled portion of the office building from the opposite side of the previous photo.  It also shows a retaining wall on the site that is part of a below-grade railroad line that bisects the site.

 

 

Project #2: Columbia Gas Office Building and Parking Garage (NE corner of Nationwide Blvd. & Neil Avenue) - Six-story, 280,000 square foot office building and a four-level, 1,225-space parking garage.  The parking garage is currently under construction:

 

Below are two views of the parking garage that will be located behind the Columbia Gas Office Building at the corner of Nationwide & Neil.

 

 

 

Project #3: FBI Building (425 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Three-story, 51,000 square foot office building at the southwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hanover Street.

 

This is a view of the FBI Building from the Nationwide & Hanover intersection across Nationwide Boulevard looking southward.  The building's exterior is pretty close to being finished.

 

Just when we thought that Nationwide Realty Investors had pretty much maxed out the available development sites remaining in the Arena District - they come along and surprise us (in a good way).  NRI announced in reports from Business First and Columbus Underground that they propose to build another 120 apartment units in the Arena District. 

 

The 120 new units would be in a new five-story building that would become part of the development site immediately west of Nationwide Arena.  This development site was previously announced to contain the new six-story office headquarters for Columbia Gas and a supportive parking structure for the office.  Now, the new five-story apartment building would also be part of the mixed-use development that is replacing the former surface parking lot.

 

The new 120-unit apartment building is being called "Flats II" - which is a reference to the previously completed (and now fully leased) 226-unit Flats On Vine apartment development located north of this project.  Despite the name, the Flats II building will not be identical to the two Flats On Vine buildings.  In addition to being five-stories vs. three-stories, Nationwide Realty President Brian Ellis said in the Business First article - “Architecturally, it will not be similar.  It will have a completely different look.”

 

Flats II tenants will however share the swimming pool, fitness center and clubhouse built as part of the Flats On Vine project.  Parking for the Flats II tenants will be in the parking garage currently under construction next door.

 

This project will add to the nearly 700 apartments and condominiums built in the Arena District over the last decade.  According to Business First, Nationwide Realty has just one more site left within the original Arena District plan boundaries (i.e. east of Neil Avenue) remaining for housing development.  That land is immediately east of Neil Avenue fronting West Spring Street.  Also according to Business First, NRI hasn’t disclosed any plans for that site yet.

No renderings of the "Flats II" building have been released yet.  But Columbus Underground's article - NRI Adding 120 More Apartment Units to Arena District - did have a site plan (shown below):

 

 

The site plan shows how the new "Flats II" building will fit into the development plan for the former surface parking lot immediately west of Nationwide Arena.  That block will now contain the following development:

• The proposed five-story Flats II building (upper left) faces Neil Avenue on the northwest corner of a former surface parking lot.  Flats II is also located immediately south of the elevated railroad tracks that separates it from the original three-story Flats On Vine apartment buildings.

• A parking structure (right) is currently under construction.  This will now contain 1,496 spaces to be used by the Flats II tenants and the future Columbia Gas Office Building.

• The new six-story headquarters for Columbia Gas (bottom) will front Nationwide Boulevard from the Nationwide Arena to Neil Avenue.

All good news for the Arena District.  Though NRI only has the one lot left where plans haven't been announced, if you look at the aerial, there are still tons of empty lots in the area, particularly around Vine/Kilbourne and Spruce and Neil Avenue.  And of course the entire Arena West area remains vacant (part of the original casino site) that will eventually become residential according to the last news about it, but no formal plans have been announced yet.

A winding pedestrian path and park-like setting will be prominent site features of Nationwide's new office project at the northeast corner of Front & Nationwide.  If the company can secure a key piece of land from Norfolk-Southern, the path would also connect to High Street.  This image shows the path connecting to High Street.

 

NRI must have secured the land from N&S. I noticed this evening that the trees have been cleared and construction is underway on the retaining walls at the base of the High Street bridge.

 

Thanks for that update, ink.  This is very good news for this area.  Those lower level railroad lines make for some awkward pedestrian movement there.  Both High Street and Nationwide Boulevard need to bridge over those lines.  That limits the pedestrian movement because there aren't any side streets or alleys around this extra-large city block.  But this new pedestrian path and its connection to High Street should help alleviate that.  Now future walkers from the Hilton Hotel and the Convention Center will have a more direct connection to the Arena District.

^Exactly. I am thrilled that NRI is spending the extra dollars to make this connection.

Frankly, I thought that was a dead zone that we were just going to be stuck with.

No renderings of the "Flats II" building have been released yet.  But Columbus Underground's article - NRI Adding 120 More Apartment Units to Arena District - did have a site plan:

More about the Flats II Apartment Building (with renderings) and a new rendering of Columbia Gas Office Building from the Business First report: First Look: Arena District’s Flats II apartment complex

 

To recap, the development site prior to construction (diagrammed below) was a surface parking lot located between Nationwide Arena to the east and Huntington Park baseball stadium and the LC Pavilion indoor/outdoor concert facility to the west across Neil Avenue.

 

 

The development plan for the former parking lot site is below and includes the following:

 

- Five-story, 120-unit Flats II apartment building (upper left)

- Six-story, 286,000 sq. ft. office headquarters for Columbia Gas (bottom)

- 1,496-space parking structure (right) - This parking structure is currently under construction and will be used by the Flats II tenants and the future Columbia Gas Office Building.

 

 

Below are the renderings released for the Flats II apartment building:

 

The first shows the five-story apartment building as viewed from an interior street next to the under construction parking garage.  The building is "U" shaped in plan.  This is a view into the open end of the "U".  It shows two glass-enclosed stair towers and the open courtyard for the apartment building.  The building to the right in the background is one of the original Flats apartment buildings across the railroad line that borders this site.

 

The second shows the five-story apartment building as viewed from Neil Avenue.  This is a view of the closed end of the "U" shaped building.

 

 

An additional rendering of the Columbia Gas Office Building was released.  This view shows the office building at the corner of Nationwide & Neil as viewed from west of Neil Avenue looking east down Nationwide Boulevard.  You can see glimpses of the under construction parking garage to the left and Nationwide Arena to the right in the background.

 

This is the previous released rendering of the Columbia Gas Office Building.  This view showed the office building as viewed looking west down Nationwide Boulevard.  You can see glimpses of the under construction parking garage to the right and the Huntington Park baseball stadium to the left in the distant background.

More updates on the "Big Three" Arena District projects.  Construction photos are from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup: September 2012 Part 1.  Information on construction timetables are from the Dispatch article 'Building trades hanging on in Ohio':

 

Project #1: Nationwide Insurance Office Building (10 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Five-story, 200,000 square foot office building under construction at the northeast corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard.  This building should be completed by the end of this year.  It will be occupied by Nationwide Insurance and "will house in excess of 1,000 employees", according to the Dispatch article.

 

This is a view of the office building from the parking garage diagonally across the Nationwide & Front intersection looking northeast.  The Hyatt Regency Hotel and Convention Center is in the background to the right. 

 

 

This is a view of the office building from the corner of Nationwide Boulevard and High Street looking northwest.  The glass walled part of the building that was not visible in the previous photo is visible from this view.

 

 

View from High Street looking back onto the building site toward Nationwide Boulevard.  The retaining wall that is part of a below-grade railroad line is being rebuilt.  The rest of the site is being rebuilt as green space.  This green space is being regraded and will include a new pedestrian walkway that will connect with this part of High Street.

 

 

Project #2: Columbia Gas Office Building and Parking Garage (NE corner of Nationwide Blvd. & Neil Avenue) - Six-story, 280,000 square foot office building and a 1,496-space parking garage.  The parking garage is currently under construction and has topped out in height.  Construction on the Columbia Gas Office Building should begin early next year:

 

Below are four views of the parking garage that will be located behind the Columbia Gas Office Building at the corner of Nationwide & Neil.  The first is a view from the railroad tracks looking southwest.  The LC Pavilion and Huntington Park are in the background to the right.

 

The second view is from the access road next to Nationwide Arena looking south.

 

The third view is from a plaza next to Nationwide Arena looking northwest.

 

The fourth view is from the corner of Neil & Nationwide looking northeast.

 

 

Project #3: FBI Building (425 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Three-story, 51,000 square foot office building at the southwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hanover Street.  This building is expected to be completed by the end of October.

 

This is a view of the FBI Building from the intersection of Nationwide & Hanover looking southward. 

 

This is a view of the FBI Building from the parking lot behind it looking northward.  There is a glimpse of the Buggyworks Building that is across Nationwide Boulevard from this building in the background to the right.

Some photos of the vertical addition to the existing Vine Street Parking Garage from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup: September 2012 Part 1. 

 

The addition to the parking garage will accommodate the increased demand from both the new Hilton Hotel and the new Nationwide Insurance Office Building adjacent to the garage.  There was a glimpse of the garage's construction in this Arena District update and some better views in this update and this update from the Downtown Hilton Hotel thread.

 

VIEW LOOKING SOUTH OF THE PARKING GARAGE ADDITION FROM VINE STREET.  A WALKWAY HAS BEEN BUILT CONNECTING THE GARAGE WITH THE SOON-TO-BE COMPLETED HILTON HOTEL ACROSS THE ALLEY.  NATIONWIDE HQ TOWER IN THE BACKGROUND.

 

 

CONTEXT PHOTO OF THE EXISTING PARKING GARAGE AND THE VERTICAL ADDITION FACING VINE STREET FROM THE MYURBANHOOD TWITTER FEED TAKEN IN JUNE 2012

 

 

VIEW OF THE PARKING GARAGE FROM THE ARENA DISTRICT LOOKING EAST.  PHOTO WAS TAKEN FROM THE REUSED RAILROAD BRIDGE AT LUDLOW ALLEY WHICH TAKES YOU FROM NATIONWIDE ARENA TO THE ARENA CROSSING MIXED-USE/APARTMENT BUILDING.  IN THE FOREGROUND IS A PORTION OF FRONT STREET WHICH BRIDGES OVER A BELOW-GRADE ACTIVE RAIL-LINE AND CONVENTION CENTER WAY.  THE NEW HILTON HOTEL AND PART OF THE EXISTING CONVENTION CENTER ARE IN THE BACKGROUND.

 

 

SIMILAR VIEW TAKEN FROM THE ARENA DISTRICT.  THIS VIEW IS FRAMED WITH SOME OF THE AREA'S GREENERY AND PROVIDES A BETTER VIEW OF THE NEW HILTON HOTEL BEHIND THE GARAGE ADDITION.

I will be very interested to see how they finish the stair tower/SW corner of the garage.

The Columbus Dispatch had an update on the construction timelines for the three projects taking place in the former parking lots west of Nationwide Arena.  Previous update for these projects in this thread is here, which includes site plans and renderings.

 

From last Sunday's Dispatch article "Projects changing look near arena": 

 

- The 1,500-space public parking garage now has a name - McConnell Garage - and an opening date - December 15.

 

- Site preparation work will start in November for the six-story Columbia Gas Building at Nationwide Boulevard and Neil Avenue, south of the McConnell Garage.  Groundbreaking is set for early 2013, with completion expected in late 2014.

 

- The 286,000-square-foot Columbia Gas Building will be built as two seperate six-story structures with a pedestrian bridge connecting them.  Columbia Gas will occupy 246,000 square feet, up from the 208,000 square feet previously announced.  And according to the Nationwide Realty spokesperson, "we anticipate having some retail and restaurants on the first floors".

 

- Construction work has begun on the five-story, 120-unit Flats II Apartment Building facing Neil Avenue, west of the McConnell Garage.  Flats II is to be completed in the fall of 2013.

More updates on the "Big Three" Arena District projects.  Construction photos are from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup: October 2012 and from the MyUrbanhood twitter feed:

 

Project #1: Nationwide Insurance Office Building (10 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Five-story, 200,000 square foot office building under construction at the northeast corner of Front Street and Nationwide Boulevard.  This building should be completed by the end of this year.  It will be occupied by Nationwide Insurance and will house in excess of 1,000 employees.

 

This is a view of the office building from the parking garage diagonally across the Nationwide & Front intersection looking northeast.  The Hyatt Regency Hotel and Convention Center is in the background to the right.  This view also shows work being done to the green space next to the office building and the corner parcel at Nationwide & High that is seperated by a below-grade railroad line.

 

 

Another view of the office building from Nationwide & Front intersection looking northeast. 

 

 

View of the Nationwide office building from Front Street looking south to the Nationwide & Front intersection.

 

 

View from High Street looking west to the Nationwide office building.  This green space is being reworked and will include a new pedestrian walkway that connects with High Street.  To the right in the background is one of the Arena District's office buildings along Front Street and a glimpse of Nationwide Arena.

 

 

Project #2: Columbia Gas Office Building and Parking Garage (NE corner of Nationwide Blvd. & Neil Avenue) - Six-story, 286,000 square foot office building and a 1,500-space parking garage.  The parking garage has been named the McConnell Garage and an opening date of December 15.  Construction on the Columbia Gas Office Building is scheduled to begin early next year:

 

This is a view of the McConnell Garage from the Neil & Nationwide looking northeast with the Nationwide Arena in the backgroun.  The space in front of the McConnell Garage is the construction location for the six-story Columbia Gas Office Building.

 

This view is from the access road next to Nationwide Arena looking north.

 

This view is from a planned access road to the parking garage looking south toward two existing Arena District office buildings facing Nationwide Boulevard.  This is looking toward the construction location for the six-story Columbia Gas Office Building.

 

 

 

Project #3: FBI Building (425 W. Nationwide Blvd.) - Three-story, 51,000 square foot office building at the southwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hanover Street.  Construction has been completed and is awaiting tenant move-in.

 

This is a view of the FBI Building from the intersection of Nationwide & Hanover looking southwest. 

An update on the addition to the Vine Street Parking Garage.  Construction photos are from Columbus Underground's Construction Roundup: October 2012 and from the MyUrbanhood twitter feed:

 

View of the Vine Street Parking Garage addition from Front Street looking northeast.  The newly opened Hilton Hotel is in the background.  To the extreme right in the photo is the edge of the five-story Nationwide office building (Project #1 in the previous post).  A pedestrian bridge has been installed to connect the parking garage with the green space being developed next to this office building.

 

 

A closer view of the pedestrian bridge connecting the parking garage and the future green space.

 

 

A side view of the pedestrian bridge spanning the below-grade roadway and rail line.  The Vine Street Parking Garage addition is to the left and the Nationwide Office Building is to the right.

Profile from the Columbus Dispatch about Turner Construction relocating its Columbus Headquaters from Worthington to the Arena District in Downtown.  Turner is one of the area's major contractors - some of their most recent projects are the OSU Wexner Medical Center expansion and the Downtown Hilton Hotel.  They did a gut renovation of a former mattress factory located in the western part of the Arena District. 

 

The formerly vacant 29,000 sq. ft. building is located between Huntington Park (another Turner project) and North Bank Park.  Below is a link to the article in the Dispatch along with a photo of the renovated building and a location map.

 

Columbus Dispatch: Turner Construction transforms factory

 

 

Seems like energy from the Arena District is spilling over.  Many of the recent "Arena District" projects in this thread are outside the original Arena District master plan boundaries.  Such as the FBI Building, the Nationwide Office Building, the Vine Street Parking Garage expansion and the Turner renovation.  Not to mention previous projects like Huntington Park, the LC Pavilion, the Buggyworks Building and the North Bank Condo Tower.  Plus projects near the Arena District but extending all the way to High Street like the recently completed Hilton Hotel and recently announced Yankee Trader Building renovation.

Nowadays it's called Arena District West, but I don't really know what people called it before. The Dublin Road Stub End? LOL "That part of town that only people who work there know about."

The renovation might be nice inside, but ugh that facade is ugly:

Seems like energy from the Arena District is spilling over.  Many of the recent "Arena District" projects in this thread are outside the original Arena District master plan boundaries.  Such as the FBI Building, the Nationwide Office Building, the Vine Street Parking Garage expansion and the Turner renovation.  Not to mention previous projects like Huntington Park, the LC Pavilion, the Buggyworks Building and the North Bank Condo Tower.  Plus projects near the Arena District but extending all the way to High Street like the recently completed Hilton Hotel and recently announced Yankee Trader Building renovation.

 

Not to mention that there is still a pretty massive residential project in the works for ADW as well. 

The FBI is moving into its newly built building at Nationwide & Hanover.  More about it from Columbus Business First below:

 

Business First: FBI moves into Arena District amid office consolidation

Updates on two other Arena District projects from the MyUrbanhood twitter feed.

 

1) The pathway in the park built around the new Nationwide Office Building at Nationwide & Front is now connected to High Street: http://t.co/Tc1iEuEt

 

2) Nice panoramic photo of the McConnell Parking Garage next to the Nationwide Arena and the beginning of construction for the Columbia Gas Office Building: http://t.co/wrwJlVNG

The renovation might be nice inside, but ugh that facade is ugly:

Actually, it is really outstanding on the inside.  Below is a link to Feinknopf Photography.  They took lots of interior photos and some better exterior photos than the one posted photo from the Dispatch.  Probably 95% of the old warehouse's exterior walls looks to be original.  That modern front in the photo looks to be the 5% that isn't.  Sometimes these new vs. old contrasts aren't popular.  And sometimes they don't work.  FWIW, I kind of like the contrast they did here.

 

Feinknopf Photography: Turner Construction Columbus Office

Business First had an article in their Friday paper about the new Nationwide Insurance Office Building at the northeast corner of Nationwide & Front (10 W. Nationwide Boulevard).  The new 5-story, 200,000 square foot building opened today.  The article looks at the opening of the office building in the context of Nationwide Insurance bringing more of their central Ohio workforce into downtown Columbus.

 

This new office building at 10 W. Nationwide will eventually house 1,000 Nationwide Insurance workers by February 2013, according to the article.  These 1000 workers complete a pledge Nationwide made in 2010 with Columbus to move 1,400 jobs from its suburban locations into downtown.  In return, Columbus officials promised financial assistance for upgrades to West Third Avenue and utilities serving Grandview Yard.  Those infrastructure upgrades began this year.  Grandview Yard is a 100-acre mixed-use project straddling the Grandview Heights/Columbus boundary being developed by the insurer’s real estate subsidiary, Nationwide Realty Investors.

 

Below is the link to the Business First story (subscription required for full article unfortunately).  Also below is a photo of the 10 W. Nationwide office building included with the article.  One of the better photos I've seen of the building, IMO. 

 

Business First: Nationwide ready to bring 1,000 workers downtown

 

View of the 10 W. Nationwide office building from across Nationwide Boulevard looking northwest

Business First had more about today's opening of Nationwide Insurance's new $32 million, 5-story, 200,000 square foot office building at Nationwide & Front in a non-restricted view article (linked below):

 

Business First: Nationwide begins moving suburban workers into new downtown offices

 

 

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They also had a pretty good slideshow of the building's opening.  Fifteen photos, inside and outside:

 

Business First: First Look: Inside Nationwide's newest office building

^I really like how that project turned out. The extra investment made to bring the remaining spaces in the "block" up to grade and create quality greenspace between the railroad tracks will do so much to enhance the pedestrian experience. I like the building design as well. A win all around.

^I really like how that project turned out. The extra investment made to bring the remaining spaces in the "block" up to grade and create quality greenspace between the railroad tracks will do so much to enhance the pedestrian experience. I like the building design as well. A win all around.

 

Totally agreed.

While out wandering today, I think I mumbled an audible "FINALLY!" when I came upon this fence:

 

043b by asher519, on Flickr

 

044b by asher519, on Flickr

 

045b by asher519, on Flickr

 

And here's an overview of Flats II from the north:

 

046b by asher519, on Flickr

I posted this over on CU, but thought you might be interested as well.

 

For those who like to see historical photos I finally got around to scanning this photo of the building that used to stand at Front and Maple. Maple doesn't really exist anymore, but it used run from Neil to High and around the Chipotle on Front.

 

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx159/futureman0/img001_zpse64bacf3.jpg

 

The picture was taken in 1954 and I don't think it's been publicly viewable before. The building was demolished in the 60's and turned into the former surface lot that Nationwide built this new building on. Originally built a hotel, it's actually two buildings built in 1898 and 1878.

^Thanks for posting. That area has certainly changed.